VAT Refunds: A Review of Country Experience

VAT Refunds: A Review of Country Experience PDF Author: Graham Harrison
Publisher: INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
ISBN: 9781451862379
Category : Tax refunds
Languages : en
Pages : 43

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Book Description
A key feature of the invoice-credit form of value-added tax (VAT) is that some businesses- notably exporters-will pay more tax on their purchases than is due on their sales, and so can seek refunds of excess credits from government. While refunding is straightforward in principle, serious problems arise in practice, including opportunities for fraud and corruption, and denial of refunds by governments with cash shortages. This makes the refund process the "Achilles heel" of the VAT. This paper examines the refund approaches of tax administrations in 36 developing, transitional, and developed countries. It evaluates the effectiveness of these approaches and suggests a model of best practice that takes into consideration compliance issues faced by countries during different stages of development.

VAT Refunds: A Review of Country Experience

VAT Refunds: A Review of Country Experience PDF Author: Graham Harrison
Publisher: INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
ISBN: 9781451862379
Category : Tax refunds
Languages : en
Pages : 43

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Book Description
A key feature of the invoice-credit form of value-added tax (VAT) is that some businesses- notably exporters-will pay more tax on their purchases than is due on their sales, and so can seek refunds of excess credits from government. While refunding is straightforward in principle, serious problems arise in practice, including opportunities for fraud and corruption, and denial of refunds by governments with cash shortages. This makes the refund process the "Achilles heel" of the VAT. This paper examines the refund approaches of tax administrations in 36 developing, transitional, and developed countries. It evaluates the effectiveness of these approaches and suggests a model of best practice that takes into consideration compliance issues faced by countries during different stages of development.

How to Manage Value-Added Tax Refunds

How to Manage Value-Added Tax Refunds PDF Author: Mario Pessoa
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1513577042
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 29

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Book Description
The value-added tax (VAT) has the potential to generate significant government revenue. Despite its intrinsic self-enforcement capacity, many tax administrations find it challenging to refund excess input credits, which is critical to a well-functioning VAT system. Improperly functioning VAT refund practices can have profound implications for fiscal policy and management, including inaccurate deficit measurement, spending overruns, poor budget credibility, impaired treasury operations, and arrears accumulation.This note addresses the following issues: (1) What are VAT refunds and why should they be managed properly? (2) What practices should be put in place (in tax policy, tax administration, budget and treasury management, debt, and fiscal statistics) to help manage key aspects of VAT refunds? For a refund mechanism to be credible, the tax administration must ensure that it is equipped with the strategies, processes, and abilities needed to identify VAT refund fraud. It must also be prepared to act quickly to combat such fraud/schemes.

The Rise of the Value-Added Tax

The Rise of the Value-Added Tax PDF Author: Kathryn James
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110704412X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 495

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Book Description
Explores how the value-added tax (VAT) has risen from relative obscurity to become one of the world's most dominant revenue instruments.

The Taxation of Petroleum and Minerals

The Taxation of Petroleum and Minerals PDF Author: Philip Daniel
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136966951
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 471

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Book Description
Oil, gas and mineral deposits are a substantial part of the wealth of many countries, not least in developing and emerging market economies. Harnessing some part of that wealth for fiscal purposes is critical for economic development: in few areas of economic life are the returns to good policy so large, or mistakes so costly.

Virtues and Fallacies of VAT: An Evaluation after 50 Years

Virtues and Fallacies of VAT: An Evaluation after 50 Years PDF Author: Robert F. van Brederode
Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.
ISBN: 9403524243
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 615

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Book Description
Value-added tax (VAT) is a mainstay of revenue systems in more than 160 countries. Because consumption is a more stable revenue base than other tax bases, VAT is less distorting and hence more likely to encourage investment, savings, optimum labor supply decisions, and growth. VAT is not without criticism however, and faces its own specific technical and policy challenges. This book, the first to thoroughly evaluate VAT from a global policy perspective after over 50 years of experience with its intricacies, offers authoritative perspectives on VAT’s full spectrum—from its signal successes to the subtle ways its application can undermine revenue performance and economic neutrality. The contributors—leading tax practitioners and academics—examine the key policy issues and topics that are crucially relevant for measuring the success of the tax in the first part of the book, including: revenue generation and revenue efficiency; single rate versus multiple rates; susceptibility to fraud; exemptions and exceptions; compliance cost for businesses; policy and compliance gaps in revenue collection; adjustment rules caused by the transactional nature of the tax; transfer pricing issues; treatment of vouchers; permanent establishments and holding companies; payment of refunds; cross-border digital transactions; and supplies for free or below cost price. The second part offers six country reports—on New Zealand, Japan, China, Colombia, Ethiopia, and India—to demonstrate the different ways in which VAT operates in a variety of national economies. Whether a government is contemplating the imposition of a general consumption tax for the first time or new rules for applying an existing one, it is important for policymakers to keep central the aim to design a tax that realizes optimal efficiency and causes minimal distortions. This invaluable book serves as an expert guide to VAT policy development in this area. It will be welcomed not only by concerned government officials but also by tax professionals (both lawyers and accountants) and academics in tax law.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka PDF Author: International Monetary Fund. Asia and Pacific Dept
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1475532385
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 120

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Book Description
This paper discusses economic performance, outlook, and risks of Sri Lankan economy. Macroeconomic performance in 2015 reflected a mix between positive underlying growth momentum, the negative impact of unbalanced domestic policies, and an increasingly difficult external environment. The government fiscal deficit expanded to 6.9 percent of GDP in 2015. The overall balance of payments deteriorated significantly in 2015 despite an improvement in the terms of trade. Sri Lanka’s short-term outlook is challenging, but medium-term prospects are favorable if current macro-financial imbalances can be addressed. The key risks to the outlook stem from (1) government inaction on key policies and (2) a significant deterioration in the external environment.

Industries Without Smokestacks

Industries Without Smokestacks PDF Author: Richard S. Newfarmer
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198821883
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 472

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Book Description
A study prepared by the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)

Taxation and Public Finance in Transition and Developing Economies

Taxation and Public Finance in Transition and Developing Economies PDF Author: Robert W. McGee
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9780387257112
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 670

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Book Description
Topics in this comprehensive survey include bureaucracy, corruption and tax compliance; public finance in developing economies; taxation in several former Soviet republics, Eastern Europe and China; taxation in the enlarged European Union; tax harmonization vs. tax competition; and the philosophy of taxation and public finance. The editor has assembled a stellar group of authorities to write about their areas of expertise.

Fiscal Adjustment for Stability and Growth

Fiscal Adjustment for Stability and Growth PDF Author: International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 149833301X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 64

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Book Description
This paper aims to inform policymakers, and other interested parties, about the IMF’s approach to fiscal adjustment. The approach focuses on the role of sound and sustainable government finances in promoting macroeconomic stability and growth. Achieving, and maintaining, such a fiscal position often requires adjusting fiscal policy, as well as strengthening fiscal institutions. Fiscal adjustment may involve either tightening or loosening the fiscal stance, depending on individual country circumstances.

Competitiveness and Private Sector Development Sector Specific Sources of Competitiveness in the Western Balkans Recommendation for a Regional Investment Strategy

Competitiveness and Private Sector Development Sector Specific Sources of Competitiveness in the Western Balkans Recommendation for a Regional Investment Strategy PDF Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
ISBN: 926405569X
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 221

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Book Description
This report examines the apparel, automotive components and business process/technology outsourcing sectors in the western Balkans, focusing on competitiveness factors and including policy recommendations.